I "embraced the suck!"

[bethanyboo]

But doesn't the large meat servings run up your calories? Not understanding how to fit all that into such a small amount of cals a day. Hmm. No problem when eating above maintenace but deficeit I dunno. Oh well.

When I was eating lower calories but trying to keep my protein up, I was surprised by what large portions of lean meats I could fit into my calories. Dinner would often by 6-8oz of chicken or another lean meat with 2-3 servings of green veggies for under 400 calories.

[KaraPhoto]

But doesn't the large meat servings run up your calories? Not understanding how to fit all that into such a small amount of cals a day.

Lean protein sources are pretty much that ... nearly 100% protein. Each gram of protein = 4 cals. So the protein "bang" for your caloric buck is pretty impressive.

Boneless skinnless chicken breast (4oz): 120 cals = 27g protein
Boiled shrimp (about 9 medium): 100 cals = 21g protein
Mahi filet (4 oz): 100 cals = 21g protein
F-age 0% greek yogurt (8oz): 120 cals = 20g protein

But aside from that, you're looking at it backwards. It's not about protein servings "running up" your calories. If you PRIORITIZE your protein, then you use whatever calories are left after you get in your protein for fat and carbs. You're not "running up" calories with protein - you're making it the focus of your calorie allotment.

I plan my food around protein first, fat next, and then let the carbs fall where they may. Now if you're not prioritizing protein, then yeah ... eating more meat is going to "run up" your calories. It's all in how you prioritize what you eat.

[kfisherx]

I love your Avi - it fits your personality

Hey Megin... Not to thread HJ but haven't seen you 'round the female folder. Nice to bump into you. That is actually me in the Avi. Hitting people legally is fun.

Back on topic though... Protein is DA BOMB and any of you can easily get it in if you plan it. Being in a "suck" (AKA deficit) is all about the planning girls. If I do not poke my meals in early in the day or the night before, I rarely get the right macros in for the day. If I plan I rarely fail.

[Megin]

Hey Megin... Not to thread HJ but haven't seen you 'round the female folder. Nice to bump into you.

I mostly hang around the journal section - just felt like venturing back into this area.. took a break for a while as the posts seems so darn repetitive.. too many 'how should my girlfriend train' and 'how do I tone up' ..



But seems the mods have done a great job in slowing down that behavior .. so I'm around again

Hitting people legally is fun.

^^ I'd have to agree!

[CottageChz]

When I was eating lower calories but trying to keep my protein up, I was surprised by what large portions of lean meats I could fit into my calories. Dinner would often by 6-8oz of chicken or another lean meat with 2-3 servings of green veggies for under 400 calories.

^^^this

Stanna- lean meats have been key for me. Tuna (although growing very tired of it) and my new fav extra lean ground turkey have been awesome. I have been pretty consistant at staying ~1500 cals and getting all my daily pro.

I would love to be able to (legally) hit (some) people. But I would suck at football, so that is what the weight room is for

[righter]

But doesn't the large meat servings run up your calories? Not understanding how to fit all that into such a small amount of cals a day. Hmm. No problem when eating above maintenace but deficeit I dunno. Oh well.

For .6 lbs of fresh Yellowfin tuna: 378 calories

My diet is 1500, so even after eating over a half pound of meat, I still have +1100 cals.

I'm at the beach this weekend. Drove 5 hours today. I went overboard on the carbs, easier to snack on in the car, but I stayed at my calorie limit. Not bad, considering I'm PMSing like crazy too. Embrace the suck. My new motto!

[StannaRad]

For .6 lbs of fresh Yellowfin tuna: 378 calories

My diet is 1500, so even after eating over a half pound of meat, I still have +1100 cals.

I'm at the beach this weekend. Drove 5 hours today. I went overboard on the carbs, easier to snack on in the car, but I stayed at my calorie limit. Not bad, considering I'm PMSing like crazy too. Embrace the suck. My new motto!

Ah, I see. I was thinking about fish after I posted that. It's so low in cals unlike some of the meats. Take for instance the hamburgers I've recently been letting myself indulge in after years of not being able to eat red meat ( liver/and digestive problems ). It's from a favorite restaurant near my house and i looked it up online and found out it has like 700 cals. lol! ----- It's oh so good though. ha ha. Of course you've gotta factor in their bun whihc alone I think my grown son says has about 250 cals by itself! ( he used to work as a cook there ) :-)

[StannaRad]

^^^this

Stanna- lean meats have been key for me. Tuna (although growing very tired of it) and my new fav extra lean ground turkey have been awesome. I have been pretty consistant at staying ~1500 cals and getting all my daily pro.

I would love to be able to (legally) hit (some) people. But I would suck at football, so that is what the weight room is for

Thanks bethanyboo and cottage chz. Yea my family and i eat a lot of turkey and chicken. I've been trying to work out my new meal plan and that's pretty much what it comes down to.....a meat portion and veggies. No room for many starches calorie wise.

[KaraPhoto]

Take for instance the hamburgers I've recently been letting myself indulge in after years of not being able to eat red meat ... It's from a favorite restaurant near my house and i looked it up online and found out it has like 700 cals

Well yeah, but that has nothing to do with the meat. If you were to eat that meat patty w/out any of the bun or condiments, you'd probably be closer to 300 cals - and that's even because a restaurant burger is not made with lean ground beef. It's probably made with ground chuck, which is going to be 30% fat or more.

A plain hamburger patty (4oz), made with 90% lean ground beef is going to be around 170 cals and 24g protein.

You're confusing the whole meal (the hamburger) with the meat part alone.

[StannaRad]

There's a grilled chicken salad at Longhorn's that I was getting...and then I checked the calories. What I thought was a healthy salad of grilled chicken, strawberries, mandarin oranges, and feta cheese with dressing on the side ends up being 960 calories

Eating out is near impossible. You really have to know the menu :-(

[Abscynthe]

There are 3 restaurants within walking distance of my office. Now I know exactly what I can eat where, what adjustments I need to make to it, and how to factor it into my day. If my coworkers and I decide to go anywhere else, if I know about it ahead of time, I check out the menu online. Otherwise, I just try to go with grilled chicken and veggies - it's usually a safe choice.

[Megin]

Eating out is near impossible. You really have to know the menu :-(

Nah - you just need to use a little common sense mixed in with portion control

[KaraPhoto]

Nah - you just need to use a little common sense mixed in with portion control

Yup! It's pretty easy once you start learning basic food facts. I can go to almost any restaurant and get plain grilled chicken and a salad with the dressing on the side. Or grilled fish. I can even navigate things like hamburgers and pizzas just because I have a good basic knowledge of food. It just takes a little practice and, like Megin said, common sense.

[priceor]

There's a grilled chicken salad at Longhorn's that I was getting...and then I checked the calories. What I thought was a healthy salad of grilled chicken, strawberries, mandarin oranges, and feta cheese with dressing on the side ends up being 960 calories

I hate that salads can be so misleading!! Everyone thinks they are a "safe" or "healthy" choice....but that's just not always the case.

I personally cannot seem to control myself when I go out to eat so I try not to. What I've been told in the past is to stick to a grilled ceaser salad minus the cheese, croutons, & dressing. Ugh....that just sounds gross and I would rather have my homemade chicken & rice

[Megin]

I personally cannot seem to control myself when I go out to eat so I try not to. What I've been told in the past is to stick to a grilled ceaser salad minus the cheese, croutons, & dressing. Ugh....that just sounds gross and I would rather have my homemade chicken & rice

That's like ordering a cheeseburger and asking them to hold the cheese

[KaraPhoto]

That's like ordering a cheeseburger and asking them to hold the cheese

Hahaah. And the meat patty. Could I have a bun please ... with extra lettuce.

[StannaRad]

Well yeah, but that has nothing to do with the meat. If you were to eat that meat patty w/out any of the bun or condiments, you'd probably be closer to 300 cals - and that's even because a restaurant burger is not made with lean ground beef. It's probably made with ground chuck, which is going to be 30% fat or more.

A plain hamburger patty (4oz), made with 90% lean ground beef is going to be around 170 cals and 24g protein.

You're confusing the whole meal (the hamburger) with the meat part alone.

Ha ha---yeah I realise it's not the same as what we make at my house. But oh so tasty. :-)

I didn't realise that about the ground chuck. I haven't eaten red meat in years so I haven't paid much attention. Come to think about it I never paid much attention to calories in general ( only if I was intolerant to it and was I gonna break out in hives or be in bed for a week afterwards ) Bodybuilding is all new to me :-).

[CottageChz]

I hate that salads can be so misleading!! Everyone thinks they are a "safe" or "healthy" choice....but that's just not always the case.

Seriously. My friends always give me crap for always ordering salads when we go out. And I am like "Well my 'salad' probablly has just as much, if not more, calories as your burger!"

I just like salads!

But am trying to keep dining out at a very bare minimum right now. I am even *gasp* COOKING on date night tonight! My BF usually takes me out on Fri nights, but I asked if it was ok if I just cook tonight! It's all about embracing that suckage!!!

[priceor]

That's like ordering a cheeseburger and asking them to hold the cheese

Hahaah. And the meat patty. Could I have a bun please ... with extra lettuce.

I know! Absolutely no fun at all!!

Seriously. My friends always give me crap for always ordering salads when we go out. And I am like "Well my 'salad' probablly has just as much, if not more, calories as your burger!"

I just like salads!

But am trying to keep dining out at a very bare minimum right now. I am even *gasp* COOKING on date night tonight! My BF usually takes me out on Fri nights, but I asked if it was ok if I just cook tonight! It's all about embracing that suckage!!!

Well kudos to you for cooking on date night! You are definitely embracing the suckiness!!

[KaraPhoto]

Seriously. My friends always give me crap for always ordering salads when we go out. And I am like "Well my 'salad' probablly has just as much, if not more, calories as your burger!"

Yup. Soemtimes for me it's more about the fact that I need/want veggies .. that and I really don't need all the starchy carbs that might come with a sandwich or burger. So I get a big salad and know that I may be ingesting more cals than I want, but at least it's veggies.

[shan123]

So yesterday was a perfect day for me, dieting wise. Had my AM workout, met all my cals & macros ~*perfectly*~. At the end of the day I was feeling pretty hungry while lying in bed. Even after my bed time snack of cottage cheese & casein. I wanted more food so bad...not junk...just anything...fruit, chicken, another protein shake...whatever. All I kept telling myself was "you have to embrace the suck." Karla told someone else having this problem the other day. Well I did...it wasn't fun but the 1 lb loss on the scale this morning was my reward

Just thought I'd share for those of you who are also "embracing the suck" right now!!!!!!!!

normally im pretty good at embracing the suck, been doing it long enough that saying "no" is more of a habit that anything else. but lately i have this metal battle with myself evrytime someone coments on my weight or makes a comment about me being skinny. i have no intention of being "skinny", i wanna be "ripped". lately these comments make me wanna go eat cake in repsonse to being called" skinny". been g iving it a little lately. gotta stop liosteing to people i think.

[kfisherx]

normally im pretty good at embracing the suck, been doing it long enough that saying "no" is more of a habit that anything else. but lately i have this metal battle with myself evrytime someone coments on my weight or makes a comment about me being skinny. i have no intention of being "skinny", i wanna be "ripped". lately these comments make me wanna go eat cake in repsonse to being called" skinny". been g iving it a little lately. gotta stop liosteing to people i think.

Yeah... uh...so all kinds of red flags in this post that tell me you probably are not doing things very healthy here. How long you been dieting and you are 108lbs now and still look skinny to people. What do you think is the answer here?

[kimm4]

normally im pretty good at embracing the suck, been doing it long enough that saying "no" is more of a habit that anything else. but lately i have this metal battle with myself evrytime someone coments on my weight or makes a comment about me being skinny. i have no intention of being "skinny", i wanna be "ripped". lately these comments make me wanna go eat cake in repsonse to being called" skinny". been g iving it a little lately. gotta stop liosteing to people i think.

You have every intention of being skinny...it's written all over your threads...

[CottageChz]

Cooking dinner for date night was a success! My boyfriend even helped me cook so we had fun AND it came out great! Now there are PLENTY of leftovers to freeze for another time when I DON'T feel like cooking!!

Happy Weekend Everyone

[StannaRad]

Nah - you just need to use a little common sense mixed in with portion control

Well for me personally if I eat out I miss my calorie goal. I live in the deep south and there aren't many restaurants where you have grilled chicken as an option. Perhaps you guys are on the west coast but it's not like that here in the land of Bar B' Que :-).

[KaraPhoto]

I live in the deep south and there aren't many restaurants where you have grilled chicken as an option..

I'm sorry but that's just not true. I live in the Deep South as does most of my family. I travel all over GA, FL, AL, MS, LA for my business and I have NEVER been in a restaurant where I couldn't find something on the menu to work for me. I have NEVER been in a restaurant where I couldn't order plain chicken or plain fish or something. Even if it isn't on the menu .. you can always ask your server and if you're nice about it they'll almost always make a suggestion of something that will work or help you to customize an order.

[StannaRad]

I'm sorry but that's just not true. I live in the Deep South as does most of my family. I travel all over GA, FL, AL, MS, LA for my business and I have NEVER been in a restaurant where I couldn't find something on the menu to work for me. I have NEVER been in a restaurant where I couldn't order plain chicken or plain fish or something. Even if it isn't on the menu .. you can always ask your server and if you're nice about it they'll almost always make a suggestion of something that will work or help you to customize an order.

Have you ever eaten at Moes? It's a mexican style place where they make your order in a line syle. One of my sons wanted to meet there for lunch today. I really didn't want to as I've been doing so well on my diet and am down a pound. I thought well I can eat this burrito and still be alright if I cut down cals on my last meal of the day. So, I order and before I can stop this young lady slapped a HUGE slopping of sour cream on it. I thoguht well there goes my day. It was gross and ruined it ( my son's girlfriend complained it ruined hers too )
I could have gone to my favorite grill place ( where you can get a piece of chicken plain ) but everyone gets tired of it. It's just not easy so better if i forgoe eating out. My husband is the same way. He does fabulous if he plans out his meals for the week and packs them for work.

[KaraPhoto]

Have you ever eaten at Moes?

Yup. I eat at Moes and a Chipotle all the time. It's very easy to get a taco salad there that's healthy and fits within my calories and macros. They also have an online calculator, so you can log on and figure out some options before you go there. Actually it's one of my favorite place to go out to lunch at work because I know I can finagle what I eat to fit whatever cals/macros I have available.

I thought well I can eat this burrito and still be alright

Why didn't you get a salad?

before I can stop this young lady slapped a HUGE slopping of sour cream on it. I thoguht well there goes my day. It was gross and ruined it

I don't understand your actions. At that point I would have said "I'm sorry - I don't eat sour cream. Will you please remake my food w/out it." If you just throw up your hands and whine about how your day is "gone" because they put something you didn't ask for on your food ... that's YOUR problem. That has nothing to do with not being able to get healthy food at that restaurant.

The problem is not that you can't get healthy food at the places you're eating ... it appears to be that you don't have the ability to make healthy choices or to stand up for yourself when your food is prepared in a way you didn't ask for. Look, I'm not trying to be harsh, but I've read a lot of your posts in this thread now and it seems that you're always making excuses for why you can't succeed. But your reasons aren't really valid ... just as with this example ... you can get healthy, diet friendly food at just about any restaurant - IF you're willing to make the effort. You can get healthy food if you use common sense and don't order things like hamburgers or burritos. You don't have to know the menu by heart, you just have to use common sense: Something wrapped in a tortilla and served with rice is going to have more calories than something served as a salad. Dressing is going to have lots of calories. A hamburger on a large bun is going to have more calories than a plain meat patty with veggies.

Back to Moe's: the calorie calculator is on their website. I always order a Close Talker Salad, naked (not in a shell). I have chicken, black beans, no dressing, and extra salsa. I even have cheese on mine. It comes to 430 cals.



Heck, just for fun I tried a Jr Burrito (which is a smaller size than the regular). A Joey Bag O Donuts w/out a tortilla is only 225 cals. If you add the tortilla it comes to 415.



The excuse that you can't eat healthy at Moes is just that ... an excuse.

[jackiemwalter]

Something that helps me put off the suck--if you will--is carb cycling. What I usually crave is starch and sugar, so by going super low for two days and then bumping it up for a day, I have one day that I can eat reasonable carbs and won't go binging. The scale agrees that this is a pretty good strategy My protein always stays steady: about 150 g. The carbs and fats are always doing a little dance to accommodate the presence/absence of the other!

[StannaRad]

Yup. I eat at Moes and a Chipotle all the time. It's very easy to get a taco salad there that's healthy and fits within my calories and macros. They also have an online calculator, so you can log on and figure out some options before you go there.

Why didn't you get a salad?

I don't understand your actions. At that point I would have said "I'm sorry - I don't eat sour cream. Will you please remake my food w/out it." If you just throw up your hands and whine about how your day is "gone" because they put something you didn't ask for on your food ... that's YOUR problem. That has nothing to do with not being able to get healthy food at that restaurant.

The problem is not that you can't get healthy food at the places you're eating ... it appears to be that you don't have the ability to make healthy choices or to stand up for yourself when your food is prepared in a way you didn't ask for. Look, I'm not trying to be harsh, but I've read a lot of your posts in this thread now and it seems that you're always making excuses for why you can't succeed. But your reasons aren't really valid ... just as with this example ... you can get healthy, diet friendly food at just about any restaurant - IF you're willing to make the effort. You can get healthy food if you use common sense and don't order things like hamburgers or burritos. You don't have to know the menu by heart, you just have to use common sense: Something wrapped in a tortilla and served with rice is going to have more calories than something served as a salad. Dressing is going to have lots of calories. A hamburger on a large bun is going to have more calories than a plain meat patty with veggies.

Back to Moe's: the calorie calculator is on their website. I always order a Close Talker Salad, naked (not in a shell). I have chicken, black beans, no dressing, and extra salsa. I even have cheese on mine. It comes to 430 cals.



Heck, just for fun I tried a Jr Burrito (which is a smaller size than the regular). A Joey Bag O Donuts w/out a tortilla is only 225 cals. If you add the tortilla it comes to 415.



The excuse that you can't eat healthy at Moes is just that ... an excuse.

Listen, you seem like a nice lady. I only wanted to chat and spend a few minutes online. I realize you enjoy arguing but I don't. My day wasn't ruined because I just skimped even more than planned later in the day. The restaurant I mentioned was having a one dollar burrito sale and there were no less than 100 people in that place, so I wasn't going to create a scene and piss off all the folks behind me. Since I don't typically eat food of that type I wasn't really aware of their menue. That's not something I typically do. Anyhow, I'm off now to enjoy the rest of the weekend with my lovely children :-).